


names

by patrickbrewer



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cuddling & Snuggling, Drunken Confessions, Heart-to-Heart, Introspection, M/M, Names, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings, Wedding Planning, kind of?, lots of those
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 18:22:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21123227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patrickbrewer/pseuds/patrickbrewer
Summary: “I used to hate it,” David finally says, closing his eyes for a moment before pulling back to meet his fiancé’s gaze. Patrick doesn’t reply, instead giving a little nod, encouraging him to continue. “Before we lost everything, it was the only thing anyone would focus on. If they didn’t recognize my face, they recognized the name, andevery timeI tried to convince myself they actually liked me, but they just likedthat, and what doors it opened for them.”





	names

**Author's Note:**

> okay so in the past few days i learned that dan put up my stupid edits of patrick on the screen at uc&p and that distracted me from writing this, but i finally got it done, so yay!
> 
> p.s. i know this is the least clever title in existence, but full disclosure: i fucking hate titles. 
> 
> i hope you all like it regardless! 💜

It takes multiple drinks and a consequential collapse into bed at 2 a.m. for David to finally muster up the courage to talk to Patrick about their last names. 

It comes out muffled against Patrick’s neck, clumsy and quiet and thick with fear. He never thought he’d be in a position where he’d have to decide, have to even bring the topic up at all. 

He never thought anyone would want him long enough to marry him.

And now here he is, curled up against the love of his life, heart racing uncomfortably in his chest, because despite everything, he’s still not used to this feeling, to being loved and cherished and _ held_. He can feel Patrick tense just slightly in his arms, and he’s about ready to pass out, not only from the alcohol and exhaustion, but from the continual worry that there will be a change of heart, that Patrick will turn around and tell him it’s over.

“Oh,” Patrick says, voice soft and confused. “I’ll take Rose.” 

He says it like it’s simple, like he’d decided a long time ago and hadn’t given it a second thought.

“Really?”

And there it is. _ The turn_. David pulls his arms into his chest, clutching his t-shirt between slightly shaky fingers as Patrick faces him, eyes warm and earnest as they meet his own. 

“Yeah,” he says, though it comes out almost like a question. 

“I...I didn’t know we decided that,” David says.

“Oh,” Patrick breathes out, “I kind of just assumed you’d want to keep it. Because of the store, and how much closer you’ve gotten with your family since you got here, and…” he trails off as tears rise in David’s eyes. David tries to blink them away, cursing himself internally for always being such an emotional wreck, but he can’t seem to help it. 

Patrick wants his last name, not for the status it will bring him, or for some false hope at getting money, but because he thinks it’d be best for David. 

“I’m sorry,” Patrick says urgently, reaching forward and pressing a hand to his cheek, thumb swiping away an escaped tear. “I shouldn’t have assumed.”

David shakes his head, allowing himself to be pulled closer into the warmth of Patrick’s embrace. He tucks his face into his collarbone and takes in a deep, shaky breath, trying to come up with the words he needs to convey just how much he’s thought of this, how it’s haunted him for weeks. He’s gone over the conversation in his head hundreds of times, and not once did it go like this, with Patrick being so understanding and selfless. 

He’s not sure why. Patrick has always had those qualities. 

“I used to hate it,” David finally says, closing his eyes for a moment before pulling back to meet his fiancé’s gaze. Patrick doesn’t reply, instead giving a little nod, encouraging him to continue. “Before we lost everything, it was the only thing anyone would focus on. If they didn’t recognize my face, they recognized the name, and _ every time _ I tried to convince myself they actually liked me, but they just liked _ that_, and what doors it opened for them.”

Patrick just keeps nodding, lips turned down in a disapproving frown, and David can hardly breathe under the weight of his understanding. He’s never met someone so willing to listen to him, to take in every word he says like it’s worth holding onto forever. 

“But then I got here,” he continues, “and no one cared, and it was really hard to wrap my head around at first, because I was so used to people fawning over me to get something they wanted, but when I did finally stop expecting that...when I met Stevie, and then you, I just…”

David shakes his head, throat tight with all the words he wants to say. They lodge there, so thick he can just barely breathe through them. He’s much better at being vulnerable now than he had been a few years ago, but it’s been a long, grueling process, and he still has further to go. But Patrick rubs a hand up and down his back, knowing exactly what he needs, as usual, and he feels the words spring free. 

“You gave it a different meaning,” he says, finally. “You helped _ me _ give it a different meaning. I was never proud of it before, and I knew that other people only wanted it for the status, but you...you want it for _ me_?” 

Patrick stares at him for a moment, expression blank, but between one blink and the next it blooms into a huge smile, bright in the darkness of the apartment. He runs his fingers through David’s hair, shaking his head in disbelief.

“David,” he says, soft and sure, “I _ only _ want you. I don’t care about your name, or your ‘status’, or anything else besides having you for the rest of my life. I don’t care if you’d prefer we both keep our own names, or if you want mine, or if you want to make up a whole _ new _ last name. I just want to marry you. Everything after that is icing on the cake.” 

David lets out a teary laugh and pulls him closer, pressing his fingers into soft skin and smiling uncontrollably. He has this, has _ Patrick_, for the rest of his life. 

He can’t imagine anything better. 

“Patrick Rose does have a nice ring to it,” David says quietly. 

“Patrick Rose,” Patrick repeats, voice filled with wonder. “It does.”

They’re silent for a moment, content to settle in each other’s arms, until a slightly terrifying thought pops into David’s head unbidden.

“You know this means my parents are going to go super overboard with the celebration, right?”

Patrick laughs, light and contagious. “I wouldn’t settle for anything less.” 

David smiles, and he keeps smiling as they both finally sink into sleep, the last thought before he falls under something he never let himself dream of saying aloud before tonight. 

_ David and Patrick Rose_.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on tumblr and twitter @patrickbrewcr! (and check out my crabby patties, they're cute)


End file.
